Thursday, September 20, 2012

Back on April 10, we wondered how much longer the East Village would have any gas stations. There are currently two — the BP at Second Avenue and East First Street... and the Mobil at Houston and Avenue C.

[EVG file photos]

Well. you can kiss that Mobil goodbye.

The Real Dealreports that the station has been sold to a brokerage firm for $8 million.

To the article:

The site, at 350 East Houston Street on the corner of Avenue C, is a 6,000-square-foot lot that is home to an Exxon Mobil station whose lease is coming due in the near future, a source close to the deal, which closed Friday, said. Existing zoning allows for 43,000 square feet of residential development on the parcel, which has 120 feet of frontage on Houston Street.

The article also notes that the Seiden family has owned the site for about 50 years.

Not a surprising bit of news, really. As we mentioned before, with the unused air rights, gas stations are just too valuable to be gas stations on such prime real estate in Manhattan, where Crain's noted there are just 40 or so left.

16 comments:

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.This sucks not just for the neighborhood but for me personally for more reasons thatn I can begin to state.That we are reduced to mourning the loss of gas stations speaks volumes about the current state of affairs in NYC 2012.

Um, good riddance? Can't get sad about gas stations. Gotta have 'em somewhere. Don't have to have 'em here. Now do we need another yuppie hive? Well, no, we sure don't, but maybe in 40 years, after Wall Street shits the bed a few more times and moves to London, it'll be moderate income housing.

Does anyone know how high they can build on this site? Gotta say, this was one of the last remnants of the old LES and it's aesthetic will be missed. Why is this city moving so fast! Please make it stop already.

If a store can get by selling just water then selling gas should be easy. But Fonzie's not pulling up anymore.

I see a niche for an artisanal fuel refined on the premises. Not four pumps, but forty different blends, sorted by geologic era, proto-continent of origin, gasseousness, and adventurousness. A separate lane serving fuel of purely vegetable origin.

I think this concept can support a base price of $4/qt. Extra for high octane. And don't forget to tip your attendant.

Lots of people drive- into NYC- not all of us can afford to live in the city, nor do many of us want to. There are myriad reasons why people drive to the city and although we usually try to fill up before we come into Manhattan, sometimes we do need gas- Plus there are taxis and other service vehicles that need gas to do their jobs. So yes, we need places to fill up the tank or to fix the car. It is sad that no place has value unless it is a bar or high end luxury housing for yunnies.

Evillager- This is a city. People drive. People use taxis. Trucks bring supplies that you need and use. 8 million people are not going to use their fixies and beach cruisers to get around and forget about the shitty mta system unless you live downtown-midtown.

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